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Macquarie to finance solar hybrid and ‘largest’ energy storage project in South Korea

Published: 6 Sep 2018, 12:54

By:

Tom Kenning

Macquarie Capital Korea, a subsidiary of investment firm Macquarie Group, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the county office of Goesan in South Korea to finance a significant solar-plus-storage project, while it has also invested in what is said to be the largest energy storage project in the country.

A company spokesperson confirmed to Energy.Storage.News that the MoU is for a 16MW solar PV project with 35MWh of energy storage capacity in Goesan, North Chungcheong Province, central Korea. This project would supply power to the equivalent of 7,700 homes each year.

Income from the project will be shared with the residents of 100 local households and the project will be handed over to the locals after 25 years.

Macquarie will soon announce the EPC firm for the project.

Separately, Maquarie has also invested in energy storage projects at five of steel manufacturer SeAH Group’s factories in Korea. The overall combined project base of 175MWh will be the largest in Korea, the company claimed.

Notably, South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries is also set to install a 70MWh standalone energy storage system at its own facilities in Changwon, as well as a smaller battery installation co-located with solar PV.

The Macquarie project is expected to save KRW130 billion (US$115 million) in electricity costs for the factories over the next 15 years through peak shaving

LSIS, a smart energy company in Korea, will provide be responsible for design, procurement, construction and operation of the project, while Macquarie finances and develops the plants.

Macquarie Capital Korea chairman John Walker said: “As renewable energy penetration increases, energy storage increasingly becomes a critical part of the modern energy infrastructure. Macquarie is a leading investor in the energy storage sector, having made investments in various markets around the world, and is committed to supporting the Korean government’s policies in improving the efficiency of the Korean electricity infrastructure by constantly developing innovative methods of developing and financing new technologies.”